Good morning to you my friends

Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

Don’t you hate starting something and not finishing it. If I begin reading a book, I will try to find the time to finish it.

It’s hard to remain encouraged when we do not see results of spiritual growth in our lives. I find this true especially in my own life. When I’m not growing as quickly as I think that I should be, I become quite frustrated. I wish I was farther along in my Christian walk and at times feel like a failure when I don’t measure up to my own expectations.

But verse 6 really encourages me. It says that God has started a good work in us. He’s not completed it yet, but He’s started. And the good news is that He hasn’t given up on me. He hasn’t been frustrated with me messing up time and time again to the point where He’s decided I’m not worth the effort. No, instead He’s with you and me every step of the way.

He’s there helping me learn and grow when I make mistakes. He’s ready to come alongside me and help me in the areas where I fall short. God hasn’t given up on me, so I shouldn’t give up on myself. I may not be perfect, but I’m learning and hopefully growing each day. So instead of being upset when I don’t do or say the right thing, instead, I’m choosing to be thankful that God hasn’t given up on me and He’s with me as I learn each and every day

Thankfully, the Lord is not like that with anything, and especially not when it comes to His dealings with His people, as Paul reminds the church at Philippi in this verse.

In the introductory lines of this letter, Paul expresses his joy that the Christians in Philippi “participate” in the gospel. They have been saved by the gracious work of Christ on the cross, and the Lord is growing them in the grace and knowledge of Christ, daily conforming them to the image of Jesus, that they becoming more like Him in thought, word, and deed. Paul tells his brethren there that this gospel work the Lord began in them is not a temporary thing. It’s not a project He entered into with enthusiasm, and then lost steam, became bored or distracted, and left it incomplete. No, the Lord will finish what He started.

The daily putting off of sin and becoming more Christ-like in attitude and action is called “sanctification.” While salvation happened one time for all eternity, sanctification is an on-going process that will eventually lead, one day, to perfection in heaven. So now, each of us Christians live each day, and by God’s grace learns to live less for self and more for Christ, loving Him more than the world.

On another level, you can say that we are certainly saved now, but we won’t actually experience that salvation fully until we are in heaven. Right now, we have been declared “redeemed,” even when we don’t always feel redeemed.

Our Lord Jesus has paid the price, it’s a done deal–but we’re still on earth struggling with sin. One day, however, we will put off mortality and enter immortality. Sin will be no more, and we will come to a full experience of the salvation that our Lord Jesus purchased for us.

Paul is communicating the idea that God will persist in the work of adjusting the Philippian believers (and us Christians) up until the time we are all in the presence of the Lord, at which point the work will be complete. We will all stand before Him in purity and holiness, not because of our works, but because it is God who has been working in us to make real in our lives the promise of the gospel.

So my friends as we go through the rest of this week, as we battle with sin, fight off temptation, and long to be more like our Lord Jesus, let’s remember this promise of God from Philippians 1 verse 6 in that He started this work in us, and He is continuing to work in us, and one day that work will be complete. Remember that this is God’s work, so it will be accomplished.

Let us pray:

Thank You Lord and Glorious Father, we thank You for showing us just how great Your love is by sending our Lord Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners. We thank You for the precious gift of eternal life through our Lord Jesus. Thank You for the good work that You are completing in us. We love You Lord. Amen

Much love in Christ from Maurice and Margaret